After much persuasion from Rayleigh and the others, Roger finally agreed to head to Twin Capes, at the entrance of the Grand Line, to seek out the renowned doctor Crocus. Their route now took them along the first half of the Grand Line—a journey they had made many years ago, and were now retracing.
Because they already knew the waters, most of the time they didn't even need a Log Pose—just general direction sufficed. So before long, they had smoothly returned to the first half of the Grand Line.
"This brings back memories," Jaba said with a chuckle as he looked out at the calm sea. "When we first entered the Grand Line, this place felt terrifying."
"Heh… I bet the Navy would never expect us to return to the first half of the Grand Line," Peterm added with a laugh. "Only pirate crews who failed in the New World usually come crawling back here."
"Even the air here feels freer," another crewman chimed in. "Unlike the New World, where we had to stay on edge every single day."
Roger, meanwhile, was reading a newspaper. "Tch… So that's why I haven't seen Garp lately. Turns out he's off in the Flower Country of the West Blue!"
The front page showed Garp flattening Chinjao the Drill, the pride of the Happo Navy, with a single punch.
Even after fainting earlier, Roger acted completely normal. But Rayleigh, who knew him best, understood—Roger was silently enduring immense pain.
Though they were retracing old steps, Roger still kept up with all major news, though they now received it more slowly since they were no longer in the New World.
Rayleigh and Fang Yi were both especially focused on just one piece of intelligence: the whereabouts of the Ope-Ope no Mi (Surgical Devil Fruit).
Rayleigh had even asked Shakky—who specialized in intelligence gathering—to help investigate, but still, they found no trace of the fruit.
Not all the news was bad, though. Thanks to the Whitebeard Pirates' growing fame, word had spread that they now had a samurai from Wano among them.
"I want to meet that guy," Roger said, smiling as he looked at the intelligence brief.
From everything they'd heard, Wano was a critical piece of the larger puzzle.
"No rush, Captain," Fang Yi replied with a smile. "The Whitebeard Pirates are easy to find. Once we locate Crocus, we can go looking for them."
"Let's hope things go smoothly," Roger nodded.
The Oro Jackson continued toward Twin Capes. Thanks to their sheer strength, no one dared stop them—not even the Navy knew they had returned to the first half of the Grand Line. Only when they crossed paths with a patrolling Marine warship did their presence become known.
But none of that mattered to Roger's crew. They didn't plan to linger.
"There it is—Reverse Mountain! Twin Capes should be right there. What a nostalgic sight," Gorlan reported.
"We're finally here," Rayleigh said. He turned to Fang Yi and asked, "That lighthouse—Crocus lives there, right?"
"Should be," Fang Yi replied. "Rumor has it he keeps a whale there, so he shouldn't be hard to find."
Once the Oro Jackson docked at the lighthouse, Fang Yi immediately recognized Crocus—his distinctive appearance made him easy to spot.
"Who are you people?" Crocus called out immediately. Sensing their unusual aura, he wasted no time in confronting them.
"You're Mr. Crocus, right?" Rayleigh asked with a friendly smile.
"You're looking for Crocus? Sorry, he's not home," Crocus replied seriously, shaking his head.
Rayleigh's smile froze. Before disembarking, he had already confirmed with Fang Yi. Even though Fang Yi had never met Crocus in person, he had described the man's appearance in detail, and it was this guy.
Rayleigh hadn't expected Crocus to lie so straight-facedly. And convincingly, too.
"Please don't misunderstand, Mr. Crocus," Fang Yi said, stepping forward with a smile. "We may be pirates, but we're not here to cause trouble. We came because we've heard of your incredible medical skills. We were hoping you could examine our captain."
Since Rayleigh and the others couldn't risk coming off as pushy, Fang Yi took the lead—after all, he was still just a teenager. If things soured, they could always play the "young and naïve" card.
"Oh, you're here for a medical consultation? That's a relief. I thought you were here to rob me," Crocus said, grinning. "This lighthouse is poor—there's no treasure here."
Truthfully, Crocus had immediately noticed something odd when Roger's crew disembarked. These weren't failed pirates from the Grand Line—just by their aura, he knew they were formidable.
That's why he lied—pirates of this caliber usually brought nothing but trouble.
But seeing that he couldn't avoid them, Crocus relented and agreed to see Roger.
"Wait here," Crocus said, eyeing Rayleigh and the others. "Only the patient comes in."
"Hahaha… Sorry to trouble you. I'm the patient!" Roger stepped forward, laughing.
Crocus took one look at Roger and frowned. "You? A patient? Are you sure? You don't look sick at all."
"Mr. Crocus, our captain's case is a bit special. Please allow me to explain first," Rayleigh said, smiling. He and Roger entered the lighthouse with Crocus.
"Alright, the captain's exam will take a while. Let's prepare some food," said Yaoichi, the head chef. He always made food first at every stop—after all, the Oro Jackson was full of heavy eaters.
"Do we still have enough food on board?" Jaba asked. Because they had traveled directly without many stops, their food and freshwater supplies were low.
"Not much," Yaoichi nodded. "But there should be islands nearby."
He planned to empty their remaining stores here and restock at the next island before returning to the New World.
"That won't work," Jaba said, unfolding a map. "The nearest island is about a day away. We can't afford to run out of food."
"So what do we do?" Yaoichi asked helplessly. "We don't know how long the captain's exam will take."
"I'll take a team to resupply. The rest of you stay with the ship," Jaba decided.
"That's probably for the best," Yaoichi agreed.
So Jaba took Fang Yi, Shanks, Buggy, and a few others to the nearest island, while Yaoichi and the remaining crew stayed behind to prepare food.
Meanwhile, at Marine Headquarters…
Vice Admiral Garp received shocking intel: Roger's crew had appeared in the first half of the Grand Line.
"They're in the first half?" Garp frowned. "That's not like Roger. He's not the type to retreat. So what is he doing there?"
After racking his brain and getting nowhere, he decided to pass the intel along to someone more analytical.
"Maybe Tsuru can figure it out," he muttered, heading toward her office.
Vice Admiral Tsuru, a strategic genius and contemporary of Garp and Sengoku, was known for her razor-sharp mind. Within the Marines, she formed a legendary "iron triangle" with Garp and Sengoku. While Sengoku was praised for wisdom, Tsuru was often considered even sharper.
"Roger's crew in the first half of the Grand Line? Are you sure this intel is accurate?" Tsuru asked skeptically, just like Garp had earlier.
"Wahahaha… So it's a false alarm? Good! I was worried for nothing," Garp said, laughing.
"Idiot," Tsuru snapped. "I said it might be wrong. You still need to verify the source. If it's true, we need to know why they're there. A pirate crew that dominates the New World suddenly appears in the first half? That's not something to take lightly!"
Tsuru was still young and composed at this time, far from her elderly look in later years. Even her sarcastic eye-roll made nearby Marines blush.
"Huh? Right… I don't know where the intel came from. Let me ask Bogart," Garp muttered, scratching the back of his head.
Bogart, Garp's aide, usually handled day-to-day tasks. Since Garp had long ago ordered that all intel on Roger be sent to him, that's how it landed in his hands.
After Bogart clarified the source, Tsuru ordered immediately, "Contact the nearest Marine ships. Track down the Roger Pirates and find out why they've returned. This isn't a coincidence."
"Yes, ma'am!" the messenger saluted and departed.
"Wait a sec, Tsuru! Roger's mine. Let me go after him!" Garp said, already itching for a fight.
"Idiot," Tsuru sighed. Their motives are still unclear. Even if you chase them, they'll be long gone. We need to understand their goal first. Only then can we prepare a trap and capture them for good.